Punctuation Part 8

GENERAL REMARKS

Book t.i.tles are now set without points. This fashion was introduced by Pickering of London about 1850. This method is generally to the advantage of the t.i.tle page thus treated. It is possible, however, to carry it too far and so to obscure the sense. Commas should not be omitted from firm names, such as Longmans, Green & Co., as in case of such omission there is no way of knowing whether one or more persons are indicated. Punctuation should not be omitted from the t.i.tles which may accompany an author's name, nor from the date if day and month are given as well as year.

Avoid the doubling of points wherever possible. When an abbreviation precedes a colon, omit the period. When an abbreviation precedes a comma, the period is often inserted, but in many cases one or the other can be dropped to advantage. The dash is not generally preceded by a comma, semicolon, or colon in current printing usage. A comma should rarely go before the first parenthesis. If used at all with the parentheses, it should follow the closing parenthesis. When a complete sentence is enclosed in parentheses, the period falls within the parentheses. When the enclosure is a brief pa.s.sage at the end of a sentence, the period falls outside the parentheses.

Do not put a period before the apostrophe and the possessive _s_ as in _Co.'s_. The word _Company_ may be abbreviated to _Co._ although it is not desirable to do so if it can be avoided. The possessive of _Co._ is _Co's_.

SUMMARY

1. A comma separates clauses, phrases, and particles.

2. A semicolon separates different statements.

3. A colon is the transition point of the sentence.

4. A period marks the end of a sentence.

5. A dash marks abruptness or irregularity.

6. Parentheses enclose interpolations in the sentence.

7. Brackets enclose irregularities in the sentence.

8. An interrogation asks a question for an answer.

9. An exclamation marks surprise.

10. An apostrophe marks elisions and the possessive case.

11. Quotation marks define quoted words.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Correct Composition. By DeVinne. Oswald Publishing Company, New York.

The Writer's Desk Book. By William Dana Orcutt. Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York.

A Manual for Writers. By Manly and Powell. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Composition and Rhetoric. By Lockwood and Emerson. Ginn & Co., Boston.

The Art of Writing and Speaking the English Language. By Sherwin Cody.

The Old Greek Press, Chicago.

Handbook of Composition. By Edwin D. Woolley. D. C. Heath & Co., Boston.

English Composition, Book One, Enlarged. By Stratton D. Brooks. Ginn & Co., Boston.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

SUGGESTIONS TO STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS

The following questions, based on the contents of this pamphlet, are intended to serve (1) as a guide to the study of the text, (2) as an aid to the student in putting the information contained into definite statements without actually memorizing the text, (3) as a means of securing from the student a reproduction of the information in his own words.

A careful following of the questions by the reader will insure full acquaintance with every part of the text, avoiding the accidental omission of what might be of value. These primers are so condensed that nothing should be omitted.

In teaching from these books it is very important that these questions and such others as may occur to the teacher should be made the basis of frequent written work, and of final examinations.

The importance of written work cannot be overstated. It not only a.s.sures knowledge of material, but the power to express that knowledge correctly and in good form.

If this written work can be submitted to the teacher in printed form it will be doubly useful.

QUESTIONS

1. What is punctuation?

2. How were ancient ma.n.u.scripts written?

3. What were the first punctuation marks, and how were they used?

4. What can you tell about punctuation marks in the ma.n.u.script period?

5. What can you tell about the punctuation of the early printers?

6. Who may be said to have systematized punctuation?

7. Give the names of the princ.i.p.al punctuation marks and the meaning of the names.

8. Give a list of the punctuation marks now in use and show how they are made.

9. Name and describe the two systems of punctuation.